LCS Newsfeed Week 1 | Summer Split 2015

The LCS Summer Split begins today. It is once again that exciting time of the year when great teams begin the long and 9-week journey to the playoffs. Not all of them will make it, so we’re curious to see which teams have learned from their mistakes and have upped their game, and which teams will fail to adapt to the ever-changing meta of the game and will end up regretting it. For now, the double round robin is beginning today so stay tuned to see what is happening on the scene. In the meantime, here’s some team updates.

Patch 5.10

In their never-ending quest for introducing more variety while still keeping the balance in place, Riot have released Patch v5.10. This version gives some love to the support champions who have been ignored in many patches before this one. Some of the utility-oriented masteries and items are getting some tweaks. The champions most affected by the update will be the utility or sustain-based supports. This is overall exciting news for players who are not that much into playing aggressively and prefer to be more defensive with hint of prolonged sustain. There will also be some changes in the jungle. This update will definitely have a profound effect in some teams’ playstyles, so stay tuned to see what is going to happen. Patch 5.10 will not be used in Week 1 – most likely we will see 5.10 in Week 2 of the 2015 Summer Split.
For more information watch the patch rundown video, or check the patch notes.

LCS NA and NA Challenger

New roster of Winterfox is announced

There have been a lot of changes in Winterfox, lately. Altec left last week, and now he’s been joined by Helios and Gleeb. Still, the new roster of the team has been announced and is as follows: Deongyheon “Avalon” Shin on the top lane, Ryan “ShorterACE” Nget in the jungle, Lyonel “Arcsecond” Pfaender on the mid lane, Kristoffer “P1noy” Albao Lund Pedersen as the AD carry, and Kenneth “ExecutionerKen” Tang as the support. The team didn’t do so well during the round robin of the spring split this year with a track record of 7:11 and they didn’t make it to the summer spit, but their hope is that with this new roster, they will rise from the ashes and like a phoenix will take their rightful place in the next season. Will that happen, only time will tell.

Team 8 gets History Teacher as Head Coach, while Nien gets the role of starting AD Carry

The North American team gets a new Head Coach in the face of Chad “History Teacher” Smeltz. He used to be a history teacher (literally), but now he is a full time coach for Team 8. It will be interesting to see what the team will do under the guidance of this experienced player, who also has professional didactic skills.

Another change in the team is Zach “Nien” Malhas getting the position of starting AD carry, replacing Ainslie “maplestreet8” Wyllie. It will be interesting to see their progress now. It would seem they are ready for the 2015 summer split.

LCS EU and EU Challenger

New addition to the EU Caster Team

Mitch “Krepo” Voorspoels joins the ranks of the EU LCS Summer Split caster team. The retired player will play the role of a caster and an analyst. Krepo used to be a support player for Team Elements in the Spring Split, but has since retired and now he is going to be casting professional games in the summer split.

Ryddle leaves GIANTS Gaming, while GoDFRED joins

The old support of GIANTS! Gaming, Fernando “Rydle” Soria left the team, while they were joined by a new addition on the face of Oskar “GoDFRED” Lundstörm. It would be interesting to see if the shift will have any effect on the team’s performance this split. During the spring split, they had mostly mediocre games, leaving them at a bad place and a track record of 6:13 during the round robin. We suppose the hope is to perform better this time around.

Gamers 2 has a new Team Manager

Joe “InnerFlame” Elouassi joins Gamers 2 as their new team manager. As you might recall, InnerFlame announced he was leaving SK Gaming in the beginning of May and has since joined Gamers 2. He has had professional managing experience outside of League of Legends, so we’re confident he will do a good job for G2. We wish them all the best.

About the Author:Amna El Tawil is a news reporter and a technology blogger. For the past five years, she has worked for major publications and TV networks in the Middle East, covering one of region’s hotspots. When Amna is not chasing after the truth amidst gas canisters, she can be found cheering her favorite football team on, or unwinding with some online gaming.